


Until the Sun Comes Down

by bigficenergy



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Friendship, Multi, Swimming Pools, heat wave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:36:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24362923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigficenergy/pseuds/bigficenergy
Summary: When they moved into their dreamy little cottage home, the catch was that they inherited all the fixing up it needed. It was just their luck that the old air conditioner, which the former owners had warned them was on its last leg, would give out right before a heat wave hit.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer & Stevie Budd & David Rose, Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd/Ruth Clancy
Comments: 18
Kudos: 180





	Until the Sun Comes Down

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hullomoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hullomoon/gifts).



> A belated thank you for [the incredible cross-stitch](https://fraudulentzodiac.tumblr.com/post/614892710599507968) she made for me! Thanks for all you do, you're a gem. 💙
> 
> I was going off the general idea of writing something about David and Patrick in their new home, which morphed into this summery idea featuring Stevie. And fittingly, if you need even more pool-related content, you can go right on over to a little fic that hullomoon wrote for me called [take me to the ocean blue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22715791).

“How ya doing, David?”

David would glare up at his husband, but his eyes are currently covered with a washcloth that’s been soaked in ice water. That washcloth stopped being cold about ten minutes ago, but it’s too hot to move even the minuscule amount it would take to remove it from his face.

It’s so hot, in fact, that David is laying on a towel on the tiled kitchen floor, wearing just a thin, white t-shirt, and a pair of loose shorts. When they moved into their dreamy little cottage home, the catch was that they inherited all the fixing up it needed. It was just their luck that the old air conditioner, which the former owners had warned them was on its last leg, would give out right before a heat wave hit. A repairperson had come out a few days earlier and told them they were better off replacing the whole thing, and it would be another few days before they could do that.

And so, David is suffering.

“Got some iced tea here for you,” Patrick says, swirling the glass so David can hear the ice cubes clink. “Used the lavender simple syrup. I’ll just…”

Patrick sets the glass down on the floor next to David, who doesn’t budge.

“If I move I’ll burst into flames.”

“Might feel better if you took your shirt off,” Patrick offers.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you,” David grumbles.

“I took mine off.”

David purses his lips, then lifts a hand to move the washcloth just enough to peek up. Patrick is standing over him, arms crossed, smiling. He has not taken his shirt off. David pulls the washcloth back over his eye.

“Rude.”

“Stevie’s coming by,” Patrick says, nudging David’s thigh with his foot. “She said she has a surprise for us.”

“Unless it’s a new air conditioner and someone to install it, I don’t want it.”

“Suit yourself,” Patrick says breezily.

* * *

David only dozes off there on the floor because the heat makes him drowsy, not because he’s particularly comfortable. He’s not sure how much time has passed, but after a while Patrick returns, crouching beside him and poking his arm.

“Stevie’s here,” he says. “Come outside with us.”

“Why would I do that? Outside is where the sun is.”

“My shirt is really off this time.”

“Not falling for that again. But on the off chance you’re telling the truth, please put sunscreen on.”

“Need someone to do my back for me,” Patrick says, tracing a finger up David’s arm. David whines and tilts away from the touch, so Patrick stands again.

“Alright David, just come join us whenever you’re ready.”

David listens to Patrick’s footsteps retreat, then hears the front door open and shut. As much as he does not want to move, curiosity begins to creep in. He fidgets and grumbles to himself for several minutes before finally sitting up with an unhappy groan, pulling the washcloth from his eyes. The ice in the tea Patrick had left him has melted, and the glass is sitting in a puddle of condensation. His back is sweaty from laying on the towel, and it actually feels good to get off of it, so he hauls himself to his feet and trudges to the front door.

Peeking out of the peephole, he’s just in time to see Patrick stepping into a large inflatable pool that’s been set up on their lawn. He’s wearing the nice sunglasses that David had bought him, and the board shorts with cartoon flamingos printed all over them that David very much did _not_ buy for him. Stevie is already sitting in the pool, her hair done up in a messy bun that pokes out the top of a black visor with a large brim. There’s a big cooler next to Stevie, and she and Patrick are both holding bottles, which they clink together once Patrick is settled. The shade hasn’t quite blanketed the lawn yet, but two large standing umbrellas have been set up on either side of the pool, to shelter it from the direct sunlight above.

Patrick takes a sip of his drink and relaxes back against the edge of the pool. Stevie is saying something, and David sees Patrick’s shoulder shake with laughter. David leans his forehead against the door. He figures they’re not doing this for show, but he also knows that they know that he doesn’t like feeling left out. He steels himself, preparing to admit defeat, then goes upstairs to change.

* * *

Once David is in his swim trunks, sliders, and sunglasses, armed with a towel and his sunscreen, he heads out the front door. The second it opens, Patrick and Stevie both turn to look.

“There he is!” Patrick says, beaming.

“Was starting to worry you’d actually melted,” Stevie says. Between the visor and her big, dark sunglasses, the only feature David can make out is her teasing grin.

“I’m actually just here to make sure sunscreen has been properly applied,” David says, laying his towel on the grass behind them and kneeling on it. “You two are like a couple of porcelain dolls, and I won’t be able to handle you both being sunburnt and miserable.”

“Then why did you change into your little swim shorts?” Stevie asks.

“Because I wouldn’t put it past you to do something childish like splash me,” David says, uncapping his sunscreen.

“Your husband made me promise not to,” Stevie says. “No fun allowed.”

“And I hate to break it to you David, but we didn’t know how long it would take you to come out, so Stevie got my back for me,” Patrick says, sipping his beer.

David’s mouth drops open in disbelief.

“Yeah, and he got mine,” Stevie says, shimmying her shoulders in her simple, but cute black one-piece swimsuit.

“Um, okay,” David says, recapping his sunscreen. “Well I won’t lie, this happened in a dream once. But setting that aside, I guess I’m not needed here, so…”

“David, come on, stay,” Patrick says. “You’ll feel so much better if you come in.”

David looks at his husband, then looks at Stevie, who is busy sipping her drink. There’s a swoosh through the water as Patrick nudges her.

“Yes David, please, join us,” she says, stilted in a way David knows not to take too seriously.

“Okay, fine,” he says, rolling his eyes before standing to take his shirt off.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Patrick says appreciatively, while Stevie wolf-whistles.

“I don’t know why I put up with either of you,” David grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest and kicking off his sliders before finally stepping into the pool. He sits between the two of them, arms still crossed, even though he feels better than he has all day the moment he’s in the cool water.

“Better, right?” Patrick asks gently, no trace of the well-deserved “told you so” in his voice. But David insists on being stubborn for just a little longer.

“How do we know this water didn’t come straight from that awful creek?” he asks, looking over at the garden hose.

“We don’t,” Stevie says. “But your dad’s been in the creek and lived to tell the tale, so we’re probably fine.”

“You want a drink?” Patrick asks.

Luckily, Stevie doesn’t tease when it comes to booze, so she opens the cooler, reaches in, and pulls out a bottle for him before he can even answer.

“You’re drinking wine coolers?” he asks skeptically, looking at the frosty bottle of glorified juice.

“Just make some room in the bottle and I’ll top it off,” Stevie says, holding up a small bottle of tequila.

“Now we’re talking,” David says, twisting off the top of his drink and taking a big swig.

While Stevie ages his drink up, Patrick sets his beer on the grass and grabs the sunscreen David brought with him, squeezing some in this hand and applying it to David’s shoulders. The water isn’t so cold that Patrick’s hand are all that cool, but they’re cooler than David’s overheated skin, and it’s enough for him to close his eyes and tilt into the touch. When Patrick is done, he gives David a kiss on the cheek, and David turns his head to give him a proper kiss. Stevie doesn’t give them a hard time, but she does pour a little more tequila into her drink.

“So now that there’s no going back, where did this all come from?” David asks. “One of the nicer roadside drop off spots, I hope.”

Stevie scoffs. “This is the thanks I get for bringing you a housewarming gift?”

“Well our housewarming party was weeks ago, so…”

“Can you please teach your husband some manners?” Stevie says to Patrick.

“Well, to be fair, he hasn’t heard the catch,” Patrick says.

“Of course there’s a catch,” David sighs.

“Relax,” Stevie says. “It’s just a bit of a joint-custody situation. The pool is a gift to you and your copious, private lawn space. And I get to come over and use it whenever I want.”

“Hm! Sounds like the pool is yours and we’re storing it for you,” David says.

“We’re still negotiating the terms,” Patrick assures him. “I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

“Mhm,” David says skeptically. “And the umbrellas? They don’t look new.”

“Not roadside, but curbside,” Stevie says. “Twyla’s using some of her lottery dough to revamp the Cafe, which includes getting better patio seating. She was getting rid of the old umbrellas, so I snagged them.”

“Could be worse, I suppose,” David says.

Stevie shakes her head, but before she can say anything more, her phone pings, and she reaches over the side of the pool to grab it. Whatever the text says makes her smile, and David smiles too.

“How’s your big-city girlfriend?” he asks.

“I told her about our pool setup and she’s jealous,” Stevie says. “She went to check out a motel your dad is looking into, and it’s one without a pool. She was spoiled by the last place they looked at, which was a lot nicer.”

“Well, we’ll make sure to break this all back out in a few weeks when she comes to visit you,” Patrick says.

Stevie’s bashful smile fades into a grimace when she gets Ruth’s next text.

“Ugh. She wants a picture of us.”

David shakes his head. “I don’t photograph well in temperatures this high.”

“You two are such babies, come on,” Patrick says, scooting closer to David. “Take a picture for your girlfriend, Stevie.”

Stevie sighs, but opens the front-facing camera on her phone and scoots in. She holds it up, gets them all in the frame, takes one picture, then snorts.

“What are you doing with your face?” she asks David.

“What?! It’s just my face!”

“Just make a normal face.”

“I don’t… what are you… my face is normal!”

“You were making your photo face,” Patrick says softly.

“My _what_?!”

“Just try again Stevie,” Patrick says, leaning back in.

Stevie holds the camera back up, but David is scowling now. Patrick combats this by peppering his cheek with kisses and whispering silly nonsense in his ear until David can’t hold back a smile anymore. Stevie takes the picture, looks at it, then shows it to Patrick.

“There. Satisfied?”

In the photo, David’s chin is lowered a little, but he’s smiling, teeth showing and everything. Patrick is smiling against his cheek, and Stevie, though she’s probably rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses, just looks like she’s smiling too.

“That’s perfect,” Patrick says, sitting back, but keeping a hand on David’s shoulder. “Can you send it to me after you send it to Ruth?”

“I might even put it on Instagram,” she says, texting with one hand and taking a sip of her drink from the other.

David sinks back against the inflatable edge of the pool and wiggles his toes in the water. He won’t voice his sentimentality right now - he hasn’t had enough to drink for that - but this heat wave is proving to be one more thing made bearable by his husband and best friend. He’ll complain again in a little while when his toes begin to prune, but until then, he’ll enjoy the pool and the company.

* * *

Later that night, after Stevie has gone home, David and Patrick lounge on the couch with all the windows open. The AC may be broken, but one of the fixes David had insisted on prioritizing when they moved in was putting screens on the windows that didn’t have them, so they could let in fresh air, but not moths and other various insects. The chirping of crickets outside, and the low sound of whatever Patrick is watching on the TV make for a relaxing soundtrack to David’s Internet browsing on his phone. He’s also secretly enjoying the not so subtle glances Patrick is shooting him. After he’d showered off the pool water, David had put on a tank top that Patrick very occasionally wears to work out in, knowing full well Patrick would enjoy the view.

An Instagram notification pops up on David’s screen, and he opens it. It’s the photo of them from that afternoon, posted by Stevie with the caption:

**rosebudd_stevie** beating the heat w/ @realdavidrose and @patrickbrewer87. save me from these two @baberuthclancy. 🙄😎

David likes the photo. There are three comments on it, so he taps the link to read them. He grins and nudges Patrick.

“Check out who enjoyed Stevie’s photo of us,” he says, handing the phone to Patrick to read.

**alexisroseofficial** super cute!! 😘  
 **baberuthclancy** Looks like you had fun! Can’t wait to join you. 💖  
 **woodgoodsbyjake** 🔥

The last comment makes Patrick chuckle, and David swears he’s blushing a little too.

“Looks like Jake wants an invite to the next pool party,” Patrick says, handing the phone back.

“We’d need a much bigger pool,” David says. “As we’ve learned, a hang out with Jake is rarely a hang out with just Jake.”

“I think the pool Stevie picked is just the right size,” Patrick says, standing and walking around to the back of the sofa. “Want a popsicle?”

David tips his head back to look up at him. “Cherry, please.”

Patrick leans down to kiss him, then goes to get them their frozen treats.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! ❤️ Come say hi on [Tumblr](https://fraudulentzodiac.tumblr.com/) if you'd like.
> 
> I know the title is fairly generic, but I did get it by perusing my music library and landing on ["Bucket" by CRJ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evXtrZrdQ3o).


End file.
